Posted on 09/11/2015 5:47:41 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
The first two Lockheed-Martin F-35's, called Adir (Awesome) in Hebrew, will be delivered to the IAF in December 2016,
Shortly before the US Congress votes on the nuclear agreement with Iran, Israel has publicly announced the efforts of its air force to double the flight range of the F-35 Stealth strike fighters, the fifth generation of the air force's planes.
The Israeli version of the plane, manufactured by Lockheed Martin according to Israeli specifications, is called Adir (Awesome). The first two Adirs will be delivered to the Israel Air Force (IAF) in December 2016, and will join the Golden Eagle squadron at Nevatim Air Base in the Negev.
"Defense News" reported that Israel was now building infrastructure and local capabilities necessary for operating the Adir starting in late 2017, "With an eye on Iran and other complex, heavily defended theaters."
The preparations are taking place on two parallel tracks. One is part of the general multinational F-35 program, while in the other, Israel is counting on continued US support for integrating weaponry and other program elements.
“The Stealth and other advanced capabilities provided by this fifth-generation fighter are self-evident,” an Israeli air force officer told Defense News when asked how the F-35 would maintain superiority over advanced anti-air systems, like the Russian S-300, slated for delivery to Iran. “Your options for attacking the enemy (with the stealth fighters) are much more numerous and practical. The things that we could do before will entail much less risk, and the things we might not have been able to do before will be rendered doable.”
The officer, an Adir project manager and one of the initial cadre of pilots tapped to fly the F-35, said that the stealth fighters change "the psychology of the arena by allowing you to hit the enemy without him being able to stop you... It really is a game-changer, and the enemy knows that."
In interviews in Israel and the US, sources involved in the projects said that at the request of the US administration, Lockheed Martin was now working with Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. to adapt Israeli-made air-to-ground weaponry to the plane. At the same time, Lockheed Martin is considering Israeli ideas for (probably detachable) external fuel tanks on the plane's wings in order to extend their range.
“We’re studying proof of concept trade studies on carrying extra fuel,” a Lockheed Martin program official told "Defense News." Hinting that the external fuel tanks would not benefit from the F-35's stealth capabilities, the sources said, "After you own the air space, you won’t have to worry about stealth. So then you can add external tanks because you won’t be worried about being detected.”
IDF and Israeli defense industry sources told "Defense News" that eventually, they hope to develop external tools with Stealth capabilities. They noted that these efforts were justified, because the external fuel tanks would make the range of the Adir twice as long, or even more, with little risk of the airplane being detected by enemy radar. “It’s short-sighted to expect that all the smart people working here on conformal fuel tanks will not manage to make them stealthy," an IAF officer said.
According to "Defense News," Israel has received an exemption from the protocol requirements of the F-35 program requiring foreign air forces to do most of the maintenance work on the planes in Lockheed Martin's logistics centers. The Israel air force will be able to do most of the maintenance work in Israel, except for heavy maintenance, due to concern that a war could break out exactly when some the planes are outside Israel. A logistics center for maintenance of the Adir planes is now being built at the Nevatim base for this purpose. This center will have direct access to Lockheed Martin's information system.
The Israel air force is about to send the first group of Adir pilots to the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona in mid-2016. At the same time, dozens of maintenance technicians will be sent to the US Air Force logistics base at Eglin, Florida.
Israel has an option to purchase 75 more Adirs. As of now, Israel has signed contracts to buy 33 of them: 19 under a contract signed in 2010 and 14 more in a contract signed in February 2015. According to Israeli defense sources quoted by "Defense News," Israel hopes to sign a contract to buy 17 more planes under a multi-year budget plan that will be valid until the end of 2020. All of these planes will be the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing version. At some stage in the future, or perhaps even the near future, Israel is likely to sign a contract to buy Adirs with short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities. Israel is likely to decide to buy these planes if it believes that the runways in its airbases will be vulnerable to missile attacks.
The REAL question is:
Will Israel be able to complete these modifications and take delivery of the aircraft before 0bama's muzzie bros nuke them?
Sure hope they dont sell them, let others peek...
That’s Adir !.......................
Tow it with an F16.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
..................
My guess Iran will object, the US being obligated to aid them in securing their nuclear facilities.
If I were Iran, I wouldn't count on that. Obama is a Muslim, but he is a treacherous little sneak, and no other succeeding President would adhere to that--because it isn't a treaty.
A lot of the time, it may take a while to get from your air base to where the enemy has his radars. When you get close to enemy lines, you drop the external tanks.
The Mullahs are smart enough not to trust Obama, they know how to play him. But it gives them an reason for non compliance. Not that it matters, as you note this “agreement” is valid only at the whim of Obama, who won’t be here in 2016. Which gives Iran plenty of time to get any assets in the US out. And if they’re smart, to have a working bomb with which to complicate things for the next President.
As a purpose-built strike fighter, it likely has no equal on the planet...and that's before the Israelis have had a chance to mess with it.
It features a HUGE engine, LOTS of internal space, impressive combat radius, very POWERFUL integrated computing systems and a stealthy, and rather sexy I think, body built for business and the pleasure of its pilots and maintainers!
What's not to like?
Adding to that its mission flexibility of being able to load it up internally or externally and you have a very capable fighting machine that makes mission planners happy, too.
No wonder the propagandists who loathe the military and do their best to undermine our forces hate it so much.
Their only way to stop it has been to make it expensive and unpopular via the bureaucrazy bureaucracy and propaganda techniques they've become infamous at using.
Unfortunately, that has worked well enough on the F-35 just as it has on all the rest of our military, which a quick inventory of assets and opinion will confirm.
"Short-sighted" - a Hebrew word meaning "pretty f'ing stupid."
My understanding is there are several “off switches” in the software that can be operated remotely by the USA.
Part of the issue with the F35 has been, and remains, Israel’s ability to strip out all the hardware and firmware and prevent someone like Obama from preventing Israel from defending itself.
You do know you are repeating a lie generated by the Russians to harm Israel, don’t you?
Or is that also your intent?
I’m waiting for the traitor in the executive branch (make that an all inclusive plural) to put sanctions on Israel.
That is a really interesting idea.
Why not some type of tow system. Imagine an airliner or cargo plane hooking up and towing a dozen to and from a war zone.
It isn’t an F22.
I would like a bunch of F35s, a bunch of F22s, and a whole bunch of new A10s (rebuild the production lines).
Hopefully that can be circumvented, if true.
You are telling me that Israel has no history of US tech in its own products, then selling them to China.
Right..?
It’s true, and a live issue.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/israel-plans-to-buy-over-100-f35s-02381/
(towards the bottom)
I was directly involved with the Lavi program and know the allegations that it was sold to China to be complete bullshit, generated by Russia after not one, but two, military defeats of Russian pilots (in 1970 and 1982) where we shot them down to the tune of 80-1.
If you drill down to the bullshit story, you will learn the “source” is a couple of Russians who claim to have seem a Lavi being unloaded in China.
I happen to know exactly where both Lavi prototypes are sitting at this exact moment, and I can assure you there are both in Israel.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.